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Al's Benoni Bulletin 04/02/06
"There Is A Place Of Quiet Rest Somewhere"
The road from Memphis, TN to Nashville winds through a small town called
Selmer (population 4,600). By all accounts, it would be an unpretentious little
place. But suddenly this village had national prominence in America thrust upon
it. It was Wednesday evening, time for midweek Bible class at the Fourth Street
Church of Christ, but the local minister did not show up to teach his class.
Nothing had been said about his not being there, so that was cause for some
concern. Helpful members of the congregation decided to investigate. The manse
was locked and the family car gone! This was very suspicious indeed. So, using a
pass-key they entered the house. What awaited them there horrified them. The
31-year-old minister, Matthew Winkler, was found dead in the bedroom with two
bullet wounds in his back. His wife of 10-years, Mary, and their three daughters
were nowhere to be found. The state authorities put out an all-points-bulletin
and declared an amber alert! Tense moments ticked away. Finally, police found
the the children and their mother 480 Km away unharmed. Relief was coupled with
even more dismay! Mary confessed to having inflicted the wounds that took her
popular husband's life. No motive has been disclosed, but the situation took on
the unreality of a nightmare that devastated the members of the congregation and
the rest of the Winkler family.
I know these people. They are the salt of the earth. Wendell Winkler, Matthew's
grandfather, was a well-known, eloquent minister of the gospel and a prolific
conservative writer. He was the minister at a congregation in Fort Worth, TX
that first sent Donna and me to Tanganyika to work with Eldred Echols. The
elderly Wendell was at the Freed-Hardeman University lectureship where I gave a
sermon in 2005. He died recently. His son, Dan Winkler, another high-profile
gospel minister in the South, was one of the Lectureship speakers we had
approached to come to the 2005 SABC Lectureship as a participant. He was unable
to respond to that call, but wanted to be kept in mind for a future slot at the
SABC Lectureship. He is also a brilliant speaker. Of course, from such a deep
spiritual heritage, one could expect to find another dynamic young minister in
Dan's son. Matthew, the deceased, fit that description. He might also have been
invited here had it not been for his untimely passing. We do not know what went
wrong. Time might disclose that. But, we do mourn his tragic loss to the
brotherhood. We also feel a deep sense of grief for his distraught wife, his
bewildered children and his mourning parents.
Why did this happen? What went wrong? Who is to blame? Have you ever had those
feelings of bewilderment? Have you ever uttered, "Why me? What have I ever done
to deserve this?" "Why did my sweetheart have to die?" "Why did I get a terminal
diagnosis?" "Why did I lose my livelihood?" "Why did those thugs target me?"
"Why does everything have to go wrong for me?" "Why can't I cope?" These are the
plaintiff cries of a broken heart.
There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God. The main character in
the book of Job went through a terrible valley of despair, sorrow and loss. He
not only lost his children but also his wife's support. His so-called friends
harrassed him and tantalized him with their feverish mindless speculation as to
the cause of his tragic losses. King David went through the valley of the
shadow. Both these men knew that explanations were futile and subjective. They
also discovered that God comforts those who are in the grip of senseless pain.
We don't understand, but we know that we can lift up our eyes unto the hills
from whence cometh our help. Our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and
earth (Ps 121). "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of
the Lord" (Job 1:21). Pray for the Winklers. Pray for our Benoni families who
have heavy burdens to bear. Help where you can. Visit the sick. Console the
broken-hearted. Steer the misguided. Be a blessing in a day when there is a
famine of hope in the land. Love you all, Al
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